House Mendrion
The House Mendrion is a house that serves the Colean Empire and has a long lasting reputation with its people. Background Loyal to the Empire of Colae and its Vezoskian roots for over 200 years, the men and women of the bloodline have been known to be particularly upholding of the nation's values and are regarded by many to be close behind the warriors of House Sabrael in terms of combat expertise. The knights often placed high in tournaments, but found themselves unable to best most warriors of Sabrael and certain Ballaton veterans. Instead their respect most sprouted from their lack of temper towards the Ballaton rivals and display of chivalry when being defeated or emerging triumphant in fights. Their recent glory was earned after the house made a daring sacrifice that has brought fame and honor to the survivors for years to come. Dwarven-Colean Wars Though the house hadn't made any significant gains in popularity for decades, they proved to be valiant fighters during the desperate and dreadful war against the Dwarven machines. Baron Jael av Mendrion and his force had retreated to a fort some distance from where the main force had been routed, though it was still knowingly in the kill zone of the rampaging automatrons. Many of the surviving forces further north had rallied under the remaining leaders and sent several runners searching for any remnants. One of which came across the baron's fort, warning of the nearing automatrons and the friendly force marching to this location. The baron, rather than preparing to leave, hunkered down and ordered all defending weaponry to be readied. In time, the retreating men marched by after a hasty and brief conference as night began settling. The men were still visible in the distance as machines were spotted on the horizon. At first there seemed to only be one, but within a few minutes about half a dozen could be made out following behind. The entire garrison sat at the ready, with any resting men being called to arms. The Baron, not wishing to have his only son meet his fate in such a manner, ordered Mikhal av Mendrion to be sent with the retreating force. With protest, Mikhal and his squire departed from the garrison and set after the bulk of the retreating force. The first automatron sighted came into firing range several seconds before the rest arrived. Several ballistae bolts were fired at the automatron, though the men became panicked as it was able to shrug off the first wave. By the time a second load of bolts were loaded, the following pack of machines arrived and were closing in. Another wave launched at the original target, this time the giant collapsed and never stood again. Several demoralized men began leaving their posts and retreating back to the second wall as the giants hurled themselves through the defenses. They soon penetrated the first wall, leaving the remainder to be slaughtered. Believing the use of the keep would only decrease their effectiveness, the Mendrion Baron stood among his men on the second wall and watched as missiles, bolts, and even rocks were thrown at the besiegers. The second wall was breached before another machine was able to be slain, and the Vezoskie warriors were overrun as they launched their weapons and own bodies toward the enemy. The Baron continued shouting orders until his last breath. Though the battle was a massacre, it bought crucial time to the retreating army. Many of the remaining Vezoskie nobles owe their lives to the brave sacrifice of the Baron and his guards. Mikhal av Mendrion survived to carry on the lineage, and alongside his uncle was honored as if he were his father. Only a very small number viewed the son as a coward for having left the fort. Post-War With Jael dead, his brother Zakum inherited the estate and surrounding lands Jael had once owned. At this point he had already had a son and daughter about ten years younger than Mikhal. The daughter had come to the age of the family looking for suitable candidates for marriage, though no one had yet been selected. The son was a knight like Mikhal, but had yet to marry. Relations between the family were well, and no corruption or violators of the house's values seemed to be present. Zakum, despite having his own son's interests in mind, even officially wrote down his nephew as being the heir for the castle. The new baron took mostly the same approach on relations as Jael had, attempting to ignore the Ballaton's insults and accusations while working to better relations with Sabrael. Hoping to keep the recent glory from fading, he constantly pushed his son to train in swordsmanship and other combat arts with the intent of winning renown at fighting events while also pushing the family's ideology into him. Mikhal's patrols and participating in tournaments became less frequent but not necessarily seldom as he often remained in the castle. When he was seen, it was commonly only training his squire and minor combat exercises to keep himself fit. Occasionally he'd visit the nearby village, presumably for relations and ensuring tax-collecting and similar actives were running smoothly. His wife seemed to fill his previous role, many times accompanying the baron's son to tournaments and assisting in Mikhal's combat exercises or rare patrols. Every so often Mikhal and his wife would visit the nearby towns not owned by his house where the citizens or other house members greeted them cheerfully. Mikhal's respect certainly remained, not affected by his seeming lack of effort in keeping it. His daily routine reverted once more when more soldiers were called to aid on the front against the Oromar rebels. After raising a small amount of his own men and being supported by guards of the baron, he and his cousin set off to get orders from higher-ranking nobles in the east. After more than two months of service, the party returned home with about half of the original number and a minorly wounded Conah. Though Mikhal and Conah were far from invincible heroes, the sight of them had inspired the men they fought alongside and renewed vigor was seen in some warbands for a period of time. After returning, Mikhal was much more like his past self. Though he still remained in the castle for long periods of time, he attended gatherings and fighting events more often and led a larger number of patrols. Fame seemed destined to remain for some time. Relations House Ballaton The nobility of Mendrion have long found themselves in feuds with members of the Ballaton house. This mainly stemmed from the back and forth wins and losses in tournaments, where Ballaton knights were eliminated due to the actions of a Mendrion knight or vice versa. To make matters worse, the Ballaton warriors saw the chivalrous intentions of victorious Mendrion knights as humiliating and boastful. Most used the remaining strength they had to push anyone but their squires away as they were supported to their feet. This erupted from mere squabbles to constant attempts to lower one another's standing. Due to the Mendrion's desire to avoid such quarrels, the Ballaton were often able to make successful jumps in damaging the reputation of their rival's house. Over the years, the damage the Ballaton was able to do decreased at a rapid rate as they gained the reputation of being highly quarrelsome with several other noble houses. Despite this, the rivalry between the remaining members of either house is still fully existent. House Sabrael Relations have been calm and overall friendly between members of the two houses. Sabrael fighters were impressed by the lack of boasting and poor sportsmanship by Mendrion warriors. They returned the favor during events like mock fights, causing a continuing warming in relations. While Sabrael has for the most part isolated themselves from the Mendrion-Ballaton feud, they've taken Mendrion's side on some occasions where Ballaton had thrown accusations at their own house as well. Relations increased even more after a female Sabrael knight married Mikhal av Mendrion. The two had a single child, Jeremiel, who is now serving as a squire under Sir Conah av Mendrion. Though the isolationist attitude of this house has prevented relations from soaring, they're certainly on good terms. Values